. it's a must-read. steve -- "at the end of the day." don't forget to tell us the phrases you would love to never hear again. [ coughs ] shh! [ breathes deeply, wind blows ] this feels cool. [ male announcer ] halls. let the cool in. >>> as president obama ramps up pressure on congressional republicans to raise the debt ceiling, he's not offering any backup plan, at least not publicly. >> but they will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the american economy. the financial well being of the american people is not leverage to be used. the full faith and credit of the united states of america is not a bargaining chip. >> so what are his options if congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling? "the washington post" "the fix" lists three reasons why the president wouldn't show his hand. joining me now political analyst and former communication director karen finney, and columnist for "the hill" as well, and analyst and former rnc chairman might beal steele. good morning. >> good morning. >>> when things broke down with harry reid, the white house stepped in with the vice presid

to see you. you interviewed steve kerrigan, the guy in charge of the inauguration committee. you write that his mandate is to create an event with less dazzle, celebrity and hysteria that defined the first inauguration. how does he do that? >> well, the first thing you do is announce that there's only two balls, and that the president's really going to be spending his time laying wreaths at arlington and doing days of service and you know, encourage people around the country to do their days of service. he got a lot of push-back from that and so now they're explaining that it's not exactly two balls, it's more like six because it's in the convention center which can house 35,000, 40,000 people. >> in fact, they are expecting 40,000. you write one of the best-kept secrets in town is that the one public inaugural ball will be a doozy, with upward of 40,000 partying in a single bachanalia under one roof at the washington convention center. anybody can go? >> no. believe it or not, 35,000, 40,000 tickets are still being farmed out. there are hundreds of thousands of people that would like

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